Trump Eyes Kharg Island: US Signals Oil Seizure Option

Kharg Island sits 25 km off Iran southwestern coast in the Persian Gulf and handles over 90 percent of Iran crude oil exports roughly 1.5 to 2 million barrels per day. On March 30 US President Trump told the Financial Times he wanted to take the oil in Iran and named Kharg Island as a site the US could seize easily acknowledging troops would remain deployed there for a while. The statement translates what had been internal Pentagon planning — Kharg Island raids and Hormuz ground operations reported on March 29 — into an explicit presidential strategic signal. Its seizure would simultaneously collapse Iranian oil revenues and signal a shift from counter-nuclear to counter-economic war aims.

Key facts

• •Kharg Island handles ~90% of Iran crude exports (~1.5-2 mb/d)
• •Trump: 'My favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran' — FT interview March 30
• •Pentagon Kharg Island raid planning reported separately March 29
• •Trump: US troops would have to stay at Kharg 'for a while'
• •Seizure would effectively halt Iranian oil revenues